"Took My Man Of The Match Away": India Star's Cheeky Remark On Hardik Pandya After Win Over Namibia

Hardik Pandya starred with his all-round skills as India outplayed Namibia by 93 runs in their T20 World Cup 2026 Group A match in New Delhi on Thursday. The player scored 52 runs off 28 balls with the help of four fours and as many sixes. Hardik's impressive show in the game continued as he delivered with the ball as well. The right-arm pacer returned with figures of 2 for 21 in his quota of four overs. Apart from Hardik, Ishan Kishan too played a crucial role in India's win.

The southpaw played a 61-run knock off 24 balls. His innings, which had a strike rate of over 250, was laced with six fours and five sixes.

Till the first half of the match, Kishan's knock looked much bigger than Hardik's contribution with the bat; however, the all-rounder stole the show with two scalps during India's bowling. Hardik was adjudged the Player of the Match.

As Kishan narrowly missed out on the award, he passed a cheeky remark on Hardik after the game.

"I am so happy for you. You took my Man of the Match away," said Kishan as the duo shared a laugh in a video uploaded by the BCCI.

Further in the video, Kishan credited Hardik for his sensational comeback to international cricket.

"I am usually not the kind of person who will keep quiet, but because I was in touch with him and he was like, 'That is not your job to talk to somebody about it or go negative about it. All you can do is what is in your hand.' That was cricket and scoring runs, and doing well in whichever tournaments I was playing in. Credit also goes to him," Kishan revealed.

In the game vs Namibia, Kishan and Hardik's fifties helped hosts India post 209 for 9 after being invited to bat first. In the chase, Namibia started well but failed to take it deep. They were bowled out for 116 in 18.2 overs.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team Namibia T20 World Cup 2026 Hardik Pandya Ishan Kishan